I've been collecting unusual objects for quite a while, and several years ago I started posting them on this site as puzzles for
visitors to figure out what they are. Most of the items are mine but a few belong to others, if you aren't interested in tools there are plenty of other type objects that have also been posted.

For first time visitors I recommend
this archive
for a wide variety of some of my best pieces.

1378. 8-1/2" long, take a look at Neatorama for more guesses on this one and a chance to win a T-shirt.

On the inside there are four small spikes on the left and two on the right.

1379. Sent in from Tasmania, Australia, this unidentified artifact is 1.4m (55") long, the largest width is 33cm (13"), and the height is 20cm (7-7/8"). It might be from Malaysia, and was originally owned by someone who traveled extensively. Larger image

1375: As anonymous says (technical term: marking guage), but they don't usually have all that mechanism. It appears to be compensated so you can run it along edges of different curvature and still get a line at the same distance from the edge.

1379: Looks like it might be for softening up some fibrous grass or bark to extract fibers, like a flax brake.

1374: For what it's worth, those hammers are still made (and used) today. They are called "replaceable face" hammers and there are a lot of different materials used to make the faces including the materials mentioned above but also rawhide, wood, and other plastics.

1375: yes, it's an edge scribe. I'm guessing that the over-complicated mechanism is so that multiple lines can be easily inscribed at a fixed width relative to each other, but at different distances from the edge.1379: I'm guessing a musical instrument. Possibly of the hammered strings variety.

1379 The metal part with the handle resembles a block knife but it does not appear to be sharp. The pegs appear to be there to hold multiple items in place as the blade is pressed down across them into the groove. If the blade was sharp I would think it was to cut sticks or thatching. If it is not sharp then it could be used to bend or crease sticks or thatching.